Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at Tate Modern focusing on the work of Ana Mendieta. Mendieta was a Cuban-American performance artist best known for her "earth-body" artwork. This type of art is often hard to represent in a gallery but this exhibition did it well using photographs of her work, reconstructions and videos made at the time. The work often consisted of her making a sculpture in nature often using her own body which gradually breaksup. I loved the recreation of her 1978 work where she transported a life-sized forest into an exhibition space and a lot of the work gave a sense of walking by the sea or through trees. In contrast to this large work I also liked he drawings on leaves. It is only when Googling since that I realise the controversy over her death and I am pleased the show just let her work speak for itself without dwelling on that and the effect it has had on feminist art. Currently, as I type, Tate Modern have three shows by female artists, Mendieta, Fri...

Varied exhibition at Tate Modern on the life and work of Frida Kahlo and her legacy. Against my better judgement I enjoyed this show. I’ve not bought into the cult of Kahlo but when she’s good she’s very good however there is a lot I don’t respond too. She’s quite Andy Warhol like in her self-conscious image making which I find a bit annoying. The show was well laid out with a lot of paintings by her, a selection of her clothes and possessions and photographs of her. It was busy when I went but space was given to the work, so it flowed well apart from some slow readers About half the show was about how people have responded to her and her art. This ranged from work referencing her aesthetic to others responding to her life and ideas. This work did make you think more deeply about Kahlo but as times it felt self-indulgent and, dare I say, I felt there was some cultural appropriation of the female image. There was a fun room at the end looking at the commercialisation of her ima...

Entertaining online lecture from the British Museum telling the story of the Norman Conquest as it appears on the Bayeux Tapestry. The lecture was given by Michael Lewis and David Musgrove who I have heard a few times now and who have written a book on the tapestry. They are always worth hearing again as they are a good double act. The event came live from the Reading Room shortly before the exhibition opened and there was added excitement as a government emergency alarm went off during it! The began by addressing some of the obvious questions about the work such as who had it made and why and then they took us though the story as it appears on the tapestry, pointing out ambiguities and where it differs from the few written sources. There was a lively question and answer session afterwards which included how much it might have cost, whether the English female embroiders added their own touches, the possible meaning of the borders and how the Normans and the Saxons are delineated...

Thought provoking exhibition at the Science Museum looking at the future of food. The show examines how we have used science to enhance and develop the food we eat and the positive and negative effects of this. It looked at pioneers in food and crop development and I was very excited to see a section on 6orman Borlaug whose work is mentioned on The West Wing and Mendel's microscope. It then goes on to look at how we need to develop food to feed expanding populations without damaging the environment more. The largest gallery splits into displays around biotech and natural   solutions from meat made from animal cells as a sustainable alternative to usual 3meat to the organic farming movement. Thought of the day was the idea that Noak's Ark was an early idea of protecting natural diversity! I was also amused that I'd never expected to see a Flora margarine tub as a museum exhibit! Closed 1 September 2026

Innovative exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at work by contemporary artists from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. The show sets out to examine how art is understood in those areas and how it draws on and comments on the areas’ histories. The show draws on work from the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary art and is themed by how artists look at their world now, how they reassess their history (cleverly called Re-Visioning History), how they use the knowledge and material of indigenous people and the role of spirituality in the region. Favourite pieces include this beautiful painting of a boat by the Taiwanese artist Idas Losin from 2016, Adeela Suleman's landscapes painted on meat cleavers, Saira Wasim's miniature paintings drawing on Mughal traditions but commenting on wealth and power and Takahiro Iwasaki's floating model of part of   a Kyoto temple complex. Closes 10 January 2027 Review Guardian

Interesting display at the Victoria and Albert Museum of contemporary works made in Japanese lacquer. The display explained briefly how lacquer is made but concentrated on how it has been used in this century. The display cases were gently themed but let the beautiful pieces speak for themselves. I think my favourite was this box with a faux zip by Sasaki Gakuto called "Irony". I also loved this box by Suzuki Masaya for its iridescent colours. The display was a lovely opportunity to discover new things. Closes 30 April 2027